As fans of the soap know, As the World Turns is “set in the closely-knit community” of Oakdale, Illinois. The show centers on the complex lives of the Hughes, Montgomery, Ryan, Snyder, Stewart and Walsh families and premiered on April 2, 1956. It is produced by Procter & Gamble Productions, Inc. That means that this year ATWT is 49 years old and on March 30, 2005, cast, producers and crew gathered in the Brooklyn, NY studios where its taped to celebrate the milestone.

Festivities began when the actors took their lunch break after a morning of shooting, and headed back to the set to meet with photographers and editors from the different media outlets. The group-shot centered around the anniversary cake with Christopher Goutman (executive producer) and Mary Alice Dwyer-Dobbin (executive-in-charge of production) joining in. Goutman and Dwyer-Dobbin both look forward to the coming years with next big anniversary being the big “50!”

The group included members of all the families with a big turnout of the Hughes family who helped to cut the cake -- Helen Wagner (Nancy), Don Hastings (Dr. Bob) and Kathryn Hays (Kim), along with Eileen Fulton (Lisa), Elizabeth Hubbard (Lucinda) and Martha Byrne (Lily Snyder). More Hughes family members were on set including Scott Holmes (Tom), Ellen Dolan (Margo) and Zachary Roerig (Casey).

What was so blatantly obvious about the celebration was the great range in the number of years spent on ATWT. First was original cast member Helen Wagner as Nancy Hughes McKloskey who was a great joy to see. To the opposite extreme was one of the newest members, actress Jennifer Landon (daughter of Michael Landon) as Gwen Norbeck whose first air date was actually March 30, 2005, the day of the set-side celebration. Other new cast members attending were Alyssa Diaz (Celia), Zachary Roerig (Casey), and Jesse Soffer (Will).

From the Ryan family was Colleen Zenk Pinter (Barbara), and her “two siblings,” Jennifer Ferrin (Jennifer) and Jesse Soffer (Will). Also in attendance were the ever-popular intertwining characters, Terri Colombino (Katie), Trent Dawson (Henry), and Mark Collier (Mike). To round out the cast attendees were Kelley Menighan Hensley (Emily) and Mary Beth Evans (Sierra).

Everyone made merry and by the end of the celebration, there was not a drop of cake left! Soapdom congratulates ATWT on it’s rich 47-year history. Here’s to the next 47 years!